My Knight Drives a Volvo
by LiveLaughLurve3
Summary: Bella gave up on “happily ever after” a long time ago and she knows that knights in shining armor only exist in books. What happens when Edward Cullen walks into her life and makes her start to question all her beliefs? A/H Full Summary Inside
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** My Knight Drives a Volvo  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Chapter:** ?/?  
**Warnings:** Sensitive topic/issue. Strong Language.  
**Characters/Pairings:** Edward/Bella, Bella/James Canon pairings.

**Genre:** Romance/AU-AH  
**Fandom:** Twilight  
**Summary:** Bella Swan doesn't believe in fairytales. She gave up on "happily ever after" a long time ago and she knows that knights in shining armor don't only exist in books. What happens when Edward Cullen walks into her life and makes her start to question all her beliefs? He knows she needs saving and he can't stand by and watch her suffer. Is it good breeding that makes him so eager to help her, or is there another explanation for why he's so drawn to her? Will they both learn to believe that "happily ever after"-s do exist or will they leave it to the movies?

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable characters or plots are property of Stephanie Meyer.  
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Chapter One:

Edward Cullen felt better as he lay in his bed, his eyes still closed and his limbs feeling like they were weighted down with sandbags. When he'd stumbled into his apartment at eleven this morning he was something akin to the living dead, although that's generally what a fifteen hour shift at the hospital would do to a person. Being a doctor was his passion and there was nothing he would rather do with his life, but when the hospital was short staffed and he was stuck working, half dead on his feet, in the pit for an extra three hours…well sometimes it made him question his sanity.

His phone ringing from somewhere to his right, his nightstand, made him finally open his eyes, giving up on any chance of being able to fall back to sleep. Once he awake there was no turning back. He didn't take the time to read the name on the front of his phone, flipping it open with a good idea of whom it was already he spoke without trying to conceal the sleep from his voice. "Hello?" He stretched his sore muscles and glanced at the clock as he got up. Five forty-five. Which meant he hadn't quite gotten seven hours of sleep.

Just as he suspected, his sister's cheery voice bubbled through the phone, happy and bubbly. "Hi! I hope I didn't wake you." Though her words sounded sincere, he knew that she was merely being kind. That was exactly who his sister was. She _hoped_ she didn't wake him, but that hope hadn't stopped her from calling him.

"Not exactly. What's up Alice?" As much as he wanted to be annoyed at her, he always had a soft spot for her little sister. She was only a little over a year younger than him and they'd always been close. They were best friends growing up, and as they got older Alice learned that she could get her way more times than not, just by being his little sister.

"Well I wanted to give you your birthday present. Any chance I can pick you up in ten minutes?" Edward almost dropped the orange juice container, which he was drinking straight from, in surprise. His birthday had been last week, and Alice had given him a new leather composition book for his piano pieces. Plus, anything that Alice wanted to give him that involved him going out with her was risky. Images of being forced into a shopping spree for a whole new wardrobe or being thrown into a blind date shot through his mind and he shuddered at the idea.

"You already gave me my birthday present, remember Allie?" Regardless of the fact that all he really wanted to do tonight was order a pizza and watch television, he knew that Alice wasn't going to take no for an answer, so he made his way to his bedroom and began pulling on clean clothes.

"Well yeah but this is the other part of your birthday gift. I couldn't give it to you ahead of time because I knew you'd try and get out of it even though it's something that's going to be really good for you." At his completely audible groan she continued, "I'm serious Edward. This is something you need without even knowing you need it. I'll be outside your apartment in five minutes, you better not keep me waiting for long or I'm coming up to get you myself and you know I'll do it." He did know she'd do it, so with a quick goodbye he closed his phone and made his way into the bathroom, letting his mind wander while he brushed his teeth and tried to tame his wild hair.

He thought about the hospital and the fifteen hours he'd spent in the emergency room. He usually tried his best not to bring his work home with him, mostly because he'd learned early on that getting too attached or too close to his patients often led to him getting hurt. But still, there was one girl who came into the ER at the beginning of his shift that he couldn't quite get off his mind. She'd been beautiful, and of course that was the first thing that he'd noticed about her. She'd come in on her own, claiming to have fallen and hit her head, she thought she might have a concussion.

But the slight concussion wasn't what I dwelled on. Her record reported over twenty ER visits in the last year, for everything from broken ribs to concussions to sprained ankles. Plus, she was jumpy, mixing up her story and shying away from everyone. Everything, her not being able to keep her story straight, her record, and the fact that she was covered up, wearing a large sweatshirt over a long sleeved blouse and jeans, despite the fact that it was hot and muggy outside, hinted at abuse. He didn't believe her story, and he had no qualms with making that clear to her. He told her he couldn't do anything to help her unless she told him the truth. Of course he had to follow hospital procedure, making it difficult to talk to her like he wanted to. He wanted to help her too much, and that bothered him.

Alice honking the horn of her ostentatious yellow Porsche from the front of his apartment building brought Edward out of his thoughts as he shoved his phone and his wallet into his pants pocket and made his way outside as quickly as possible.

Edward felt Alice appraising his outfit in disdain, but she stayed silent as he slid into the passenger seat of her car, and he was the one to break the silence as she effortlessly slid her car out from between two others, "I'm not going shopping with you Alice."

"Well, hello to you too," she snapped, playfully, "And for your information I am not taking you shopping. Although now that you mention it I really should because you look like you got dressed in the dark…from a discount bin…at Walmart."

Although her insult was laughable, Edward knew that coming from Alice that was right on up there with cursing in church and hitting a woman…wrong and unforgivable. But still Edward couldn't help but laugh at his sister who wasted no time turning to shoot him a dirty look, "Well then where are you taking me?"

"Not that it's really any of your business," he shot her a look and she quickly conceded, "Okay, okay so maybe it is your business. But you have to promise not to try and get out of it, because it'll be really good for you and it's something I think you really need. Plus, I already made your appointment and it would be terribly rude to try and cancel now, especially because I had to beg them to book you in the evening, you know because Wednesday is there early day, and it's your present and--"

"Alice!" He cut her off sharply, knowing that she would just continue with her ranting until her did.

"Right, sorry. So, I'm taking you to a spa." She must've seen the look of annoyance and slight disbelief that crossed his face because she rushed on before he could utter a single word, "You're simply going for a massage Edward. They have the most lovely massage therapists, and I made you an appointment with my usual." She pulled over to the curb in front of what he would've thought was just a regular office building had it not been for the writing on the large glass doors reading Ananya Spa in curving letters. Alice met him at his door, giving him no means of escape.

"Oh, Alice is this really necessary?" He groaned out as she walked with him into the lobby, the feeling of the air conditioning hitting him like chilled wind.

"Yes. It is." Her words were simple and concise and she gave him no more time to argue as she walked straight to the desk, "Oh, hello Lauren," Edward could tell from his sister's tone of voice that she didn't like this girl, "I'm here for my facial with Robert and my brother has a massage scheduled with Isabella." Edward wasn't actually listening to his sister anymore, instead trying to figure out ways to get out of this, although he knew by now it was futile to even try.

"Of course," Lauren said, her eyes, falling on Edward, showed desire and her voice held the overconfidence of the school prom queen, "Right this way." Alice felt like she could gag, watching as Lauren attempted to flirt with her brother, and she was incredibly pleased to see that he hadn't spared her a second of attention. Edward didn't date, insisting he didn't have the time.

"Here we are Alice. Robert should be waiting."

"We should finish up around the same time, so I'll meet you in the lobby when I'm done." Edward simply nodded at Alice before she disappeared behind a dark wooden door. He knew that this would be his one opportunity to escape, but he knew Alice would be crushed if she found out. It wasn't worth hurting his sister just to get out of getting a massage, and after the initial shock behind her gift had worn off the idea of a massage didn't seem as bad.

"You're room is right down here Edward." The girl, whose name Edward couldn't seem to recall, smiled in what he assumed was supposed to be a seductive manner. He smiled kindly, not wanting to be rude, and hoped she didn't read more into it than he meant. She stopped short, opening a door like the one Alice had disappeared behind.

He walked into the room with her following closely—almost uncomfortably so—behind him. The room smelt like freesias and he noted the pink candles burning around the room. The sounds of running water playing softly through speakers mounted in the corners of the walls. There was a massage table set up in the center of the room, and a table with different lotions and oils next to it. A robe hung on a hook next to the door and there was a small garment bag hanging on a hook next to it.

"You're masseuse will be in shortly, while you wait please take off your clothes. You can leave you underwear on if it makes you more comfortable," By now the girl was staring at Edward like a greedy child, and she was the shiny new toy that she couldn't wait to get her hands on, the thought of him stripping down obviously giving her enough to fuel her fantasies.

After a few seconds Edward was growing fairly uncomfortable under the strangers gaze, and he cleared his throat, pulling Lauren out of her thoughts, "Right, I'm sorry. When you're ready you can put on this robe and wait for you masseuse." She smiled at him one last time before eventually turning and leaving the room slowly.

Edward let his mind as he methodically stripped from his shoes and clothes, slipping on the robe before sitting on the table as though he were waiting for a doctor. He wasn't surprised, though slightly aggravated, when his mind wandered back to the girl, Bella, from the emergency room the night before. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he wished there was something he could've done to help her none the less. She wasn't the first person whom he'd treated who was obviously suffering from some kind of abuse, nor was she the first to refuse help, even when it was so obviously staring her in the face. But there was something different about her; something that made him want to take care her and protect her.

There was a light knock on the door, and he was grateful that his masseuse was finally here, giving him something else to concentrate on. "Come in." His voice came out low and raspy, and he couldn't help but wonder if that was from staying silent or from his thoughts.

The door opened and he felt his breath escape from his lips in an almost silent gasp. His eyes lingered on her, tracing the curves of her body, the light curl of her brown hair—so soft looking he found himself wanting to run his hands through it, her pale skin peeking out from under the deep blue of her v-neck blouse, her heart shaped face, her full red lips, and finally his eyes landed on her liquid chocolate eyes. Bella Swan, from the ER.

**A/N: I haven't abandoned **_**I Saw it in a Vision**_** but I've been having difficulty finishing the second chapter. I had this idea and so I decided to run with it. Hopefully I get more a response with this than I got with the last. Please, please review and if you do I'll try to get the next chapter up by Christmas.**

**Happy holidays, you'll make mine be reviewing. Just think of it as a present under the tree. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I'm so, so sorry for making everyone wait so long. There will be an explanation at the end of the chapter that I believe will force you all to forgive me. Enjoy : )**

Chapter Two:

"Bella your appointment is here and lord is he hot." Lauren's voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Bella's already aching head. She had just barely gotten two hours of sleep before she had had to leave for work. She'd spent almost three hours in the emergency room where she found out that she had indeed been given a concussion. Not that that was surprising. James had plenty of upper body strength and he hadn't held out any when he decided to throw her into their kitchen wall. "I'm seriously jealous that you get to rub all over his beautiful, naked body!"

Lauren had resorted to squealing by this point and though she and Bella were cordial on a work basis Bella was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken. She took her job seriously and she would never make a pass at somebody who she was massaging. With what she hoped was an 'Sorry, I have to get to work,' type smile she slipped out the door and made her way down the long hallway towards her room.

After knocking once and getting the permission from a man's voice, low and raspy, Bella pushed the door open. She was halfway to the massage table, barely registering the man's practically inaudible gasp, when she finally glanced up. She recognized him instantly, though she didn't know how she wouldn't've. He was the kind of man that every girl wanted. The kind of man that woman would leave their husbands for if only they had the opportunity. He was the kind of man she could never get, she reminded herself silently.

Dr. Cullen. The man she had spent part of the night with in the emergency room, the same man that had tried, completely in vain, to get her to admit that she was abused; to seek help with someone, anyone, and he was sitting on her massage table. The cream colored robe that he wore, loosely belted at the waist, gave her a lovely glimpse at his hard, chiseled chest, and she had to stop herself in her thoughts for a moment. _'I sound like Lauren now!'_ she thought with complete and utter disdain. It wasn't until the toe of her black, Mary-Jane flats caught the floor at an odd angle that she stopped thinking about what else the robe covered however. The only thing on her mind after that was the floor growing closer and closer to her face.

"Whoa!" Edward felt himself moving towards her on instinct and wrapping his hands around either one of her shoulders, catching her only seconds before she made impact with the floor.

"Thanks," Bella's voice was low and her breath left her in a short spurt as she tried to let her stomach…and possibly her brain, catch up with her. It fanned across Edward's face and he was strangely drawn to it. The scent of strawberries and freesias, stronger than the candles burning around the room, surrounded her and he felt him self pulling her slightly closer to her just to feel her warmth by him and to get more of her scent. She was like a drug and now that he'd gotten a little bit he couldn't help but want more.

"Are you okay?" He was happily surprised that he still had the ability to form a coherent sentence and he wasn't surprised to find that his voice was still coming from low in his throat. Just as he'd suspected before it had everything to do with her.

She nodded slightly before attempting to speak again, "You can let me go now," she told him, far too much aware of the fact that the belt of his robe had slipped a bit, showing the chiseled lines of his stomach, her eyes tracing down his body to the 'v' lines that led into his boxers.

Edward felt Bella's eyes scanning him and for a moment he thought about saying something completely out of character and most definitely arrogant about what about if he didn't want to, but instead he let go of her swiftly.

They stood there just staring at one another for a little while until Edward decided to break the awkward silence, "I've never been for a massage before. I don't exactly know how this works."

"Right, you're Alice's brother. She told me about you at her last appointment," Bella felt he cheeks color and warm with a blush and Edward smiled at it. She'd been the same way the night before when he'd treated her, blushing over the slightest things, and he found it endearing. "I'm going to leave the room for a moment so you can take off your robe and lay on the table under the sheet, but before we begin are there any problem spots I should know about?"

After his simple "No," she slipped out of the room, using the time away from him to gather herself. She needed to be professional about this. It wasn't the first time she'd massaged a good looking man, although she'd have to admit he was probably the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen in real life. She would just need to pretend she didn't know him and that he didn't look like an _Abercrombie _model come to life, "Um…Bella?" Edward's voice threw the door pulled her out of her thoughts, although she couldn't help but enjoy the way her name sounded when he said it. _'Stupid Bella! Stop this right this second. He's a customer and you have a boyfriend!'_ Her thoughts were nothing short of irate as she made her way back into the room.

Without speaking Bella rolled the sheet down his back and began his massage. She quickly found her groove, rubbing the tension out of his muscles and little by little she felt as though she was massaging any other customer. It wasn't until he moaned that she was pulled out of her thoughts, it wasn't something completely new to her but never before had it affected Bella as it was now. She suddenly felt as though her knees where going to give out underneath her, that she remembered whose muscled back she was rubbing.

And then, as though this wasn't hard enough for her, he had to choose that moment to

attempt to start a conversation, "You're really good at this Bella."

Bella had no idea how to respond. Her brain seemed to have turned to Jell-O at the sight of him. Finally, after long enough that it was sufficiently awkward, Bella said, "Well you know it is like, my job." She laughed awkwardly trying to cover just how uncomfortable she was.

He laughed too and she prayed that they could spend the last twenty-eight minutes of his massage in silence. She watched the clock, seconds ticking by slower than usual as if she had entered some type of alternate universe where she tried her hardest to tune out his moans. Finally, as she wrapped up the massage Edward pulled his head out of the hole on the table and said "Well it sure is lucky for me that you only hit your head and didn't break your arm when that boyfriend of yours pushed you last night."

Bella felt herself freezing on the spot. She didn't know what to say or how to react to Edward's out of line comment. He knew it was out of line when he said it and yet he couldn't stop himself. It was all going back to that whole getting attached to your patients thing and he just couldn't hold back a chance at getting her to admit that she was being abused; at getting her help.

After another moment of standing in awkward silence, from Edward Cullen basically hitting the nail on the head, Bella came back to life. "You can change back into your clothes and then see your way out," and with that Bella slipped out the door and away from the doctors appraising eyes. Once she was safely inside that protection of the staff lounge she could finally breathe again. It wasn't the first time someone had questioned her about her abuse. Usually it was doctors in the Emergency Room but once…once it had been her brother.

***

_Four Years Earlier_

Emmett Swan was a simple man, much like his father had been when he was still alive. He was happy to working at the police station, following in his father's footsteps. He spent the evenings with his new beautiful girlfriend, seeing his sister whenever they were able to get together.

He was protective of her, he knew that, but he had his reasons for it, and now she was getting even more serious with her boyfriend, the one that he'd known was bad news from the beginning. Things had started out innocently enough with James, and Emmett trusted her judgment and tried to bond with him whenever she'd bring him around, but he couldn't seem to get past the original gut feeling he had about the guy and he began to notice signs. As a police officer he was trained to be able to spot the signs of abuse, and it scared him when little by little he started to see them in his baby sister.

He tried to bring it up once and she just brushed it off and he tried to tell himself it was true. He didn't like the idea of Bella in pain; in an abusive relationship, so he told himself that he was just jumping to conclusions, letting the fact that he didn't like the guy and the fact that he knew too much about what the signs that he _could_ be abusing his sister get to his head.

Rosalie was visiting family and James had to work late so Bella had decided to come over to cook Emmett dinner. They chatted about Emmett's work and Emmett wondered aloud if she was still writing while she cooked, and it was nice. It was the first time in a long time that Emmett felt like he really had his little sister back.

"Bella it's been you're dream to be a writer for as long as I can remember. You can't just give something like that up over some guy!" Emmett said, exaggerating as usual.

"Gosh Emmett I'm not giving up anythi-….what?" Bella asked. She was in the middle of reaching on her tiptoes for the garlic powder which of course was on a shelf too high for her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING TO YOU?!? I'M GOING TO KILL HIM…!" Emmett's voice boomed through the small kitchen and a shocked Bella looked around before following his gaze to a line of about four inches of flesh that she'd unintentionally exposed when she reached for the high shelf. Four inches of black and blue, incredibly bruised flesh.

"Calm down Emmett, it's not what you think! I…I just fell down the stairs! You know how I am…I'm a klutz; I was carrying the laundry and my foot got caught on the stairs."

"Bullshit Bella. I've suspected that bastard from the very beginning and now here you are all black and blue. He did this to you and I know it. I never should've listened to you that first time when I suspected all this…" Emmett slowly just trailed off, the disappointment in himself written on his face and in his voice. He'd lived the better part of his life trying to protect his baby sister and then he let this go on right in front of his eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about Emmett," Bella tried to sound firm but there was a scared unsureness in her voice, "James would never try to hurt me! He loves me, do you hear me? He loves me."

"Bella I just want to help you. I can see what's going on, it's obvious. Why are you letting him do this to you? Why wouldn't you come to me when he started hurting you?" Bella could hear the pain seeping through his words and after growing up with their father Emmett wasn't exactly an emotions kind of guy.

"Look you're wrong okay. You don't understand."

"What's there to understand? That asshole is hurting my little sister and you're never seeing him again. Do you hear me Bella? Do you comprehend the words that I'm saying? You are _never_ going to see that ass again. You're staying here and that's final!"

"Who the hell do you think you are telling me what I will and will not be doing? Who I can or cannot see! You don't have a clue about what's going on and don't try saying you do."

"Bells look at you!" Emmett pulled her away from the food that she was so intently cooking and she flinched away from him. "Oh…Bells I didn't mean to scare you I'm so sorry." His mind raced back to when she'd first come back to live with him and Charlie.

"Screw you Emmett. I told you I'm fine but if you don't want to believe me; if you want to think that my boyfriend is hurting me than you can do that. But I won't be around while you do." And with that Bella stormed out of her brothers house and consequently out of his life and though he would look back on that day again and again; would replay it in his mind like a bad movie that he could never get to stop, there was nothing he could do to bring her back.

_A/N: At the end of October I fell down the stairs and I sprained my ankle. I may have mentioned that I was suffering from an injury in my last chapter. Well, I'd like to use this chapter to educate some readers on a condition I have called RSD. Long story short when I was suffering back in December it was really just the beginning, I was in a hospital for three months trying to reverse my condition, and I've undergone many procedures with the hopes of reversing it but I'm still suffering, unable to walk. I had a small heart problem but it's finally out of the way and there's talk of two different procedure that my surgeons are thinking of doing so at least there's hope, but my concentration is of with all the medications, and I fell into a depression while I was in the hospital. I'm happy to finally be writing again, but it may take some time between chapters. Please, please review and if you're interested look up RSD so that you can be one more person who knows about it, believe me there aren't many._

So there you go, there's a little insight on Bella's past, plus some half naked Edward/Bella interaction. In the next chapter we meet our James. : )

_REVIEW= HAPPY just fyi  
_

_Thank you._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight I'd go on much longer shopping sprees, **_**obviously **_**be able to finish writing a novel and I'm not so sure I'd share Edward with anyone else. : )**

Chapter Three:

"Now see Eddiekins, that wasn't that bad," Alice mocked as she finally saw Edward walking down the hall that led to the treatment rooms, pulling him out of thoughts of Bella.

With a strange smirk on his face he looked at his little sister and replied, "No Alice…that wasn't _that_ bad…not that bad at all." She gave him a strange look, obviously looking for the details behind his strange answer but after a minute she just shook her head, grabbing her purse from the sleek padded bench she'd been lounging on as she waited for him and started for the large glass double doors.

"Isn't Bella beautiful?" Alice asked as though she was commenting on the weather. She was barely able to contain her laughter at the strange look that crossed his face, "You know I always thought she'd be good for you." Alice squinted towards him as the sun made an appearance for the first time all day and she wondered if she could tell him about her "feelings" about the future, particularly his at the moment. She'd told him before, while they were growing up, but once they hit high school she mostly kept the truth about her feelings to herself because she was afraid Edward would call her stupid. But if growing up together had taught him anything it should've been never to bet against Alice and her feelings. She started to make her way towards the driver's side of her shiny yellow Porsche not noticing that something had caught Edward's eye only a few feet down the street, "I know, I know. You don't have to give me the whole, 'I'm-Too-Busy-Too-Date' speech, it doesn't matter anyways, she's got a boyfrien-…Hey Edward what the hell? Where are you going?"

Edward hardly heard his little sister's calls after him as he half walked, half charged down the sidewalk. He couldn't hear what was going on until he was about halfway to Bella and more importantly to the tall, well built man with his hands in a tight grip on both of her shoulders, holding her against a shiny black Hummer. "You fucking bitch Bella, I've been waiting out here for over an hour, calling your cell, wondering where the hell you are, and then it fucking hits me. You were fucking Robert right. God this is why I don't trust you out by yourself; you're a little whore and you're going to pay for it."

"James I didn't do anything!" Bella tried to explain frantically, "I told you this morning I had a late appointment. You know I wouldn't do anyth-…"

"Shut the fuck up!" James' voice was full of rage and disbelief as he cut her off. Bella was now cowering underneath his grip, "You know I hate it when you lie to me." One hand visibly tightened on her shoulder while he drew his arm back to smack her across the face, and Bella knew the drill. It wouldn't be hard enough to leave a mark but she'd feel it for days. She would do her very best not to cry, or generally make noise at all, the less she resisted what she knew was coming the easier she knew it would go over.

Edward watched as his hand came down and hit Bella's trembling frame. Rage flared up inside of him and just seconds before the second blow was set to come down across her face Bella glanced up, her eyes locking with the angry, passionate glowing green eyes of Edward Cullen who was now practically running down the street and only about ten feet away from her. She knew it made it worse, but she couldn't stop herself from crying out as she felt the sting she knew well, a tear betraying her as it made a jagged trail down her face.

She pulled her eyes away from Edward's searing gaze, not wanting to see the pitying look she was sure would be there. She was only vaguely aware of James pulling back to strike again when she closed her eyes waiting for the familiar sting.

But the strike never came and moments later Bella opened her eyes to see Edward standing behind James' shoulder, his hand wrapped tightly around James' lifted fist, "I don't think that's a good idea." His voice was vicious as he twisted James' arm and pinned it behind his back.

"Excuse me but, I don't think this has anything to do with you, so why don't you and this little," James looked down on Alice as though he were better than her but also as though he wouldn't mind having his way with her, "pixie girl here and run along. Believe me, you have no business here."

"I'm only going to tell you this once. This is how it's going to go. You're going to let her go, get in your car and drive away and if you cooperate then maybe you won't get punched in the face. Do you understand me?" Edward's face was red with rage and he felt extremely protective of Bella; who was squirmed under James' grip which was tightening with fury.

"Edward just go away and leave me alone!" Bella was practically begging. She couldn't pull anyone else into her situation. There were reasons she was still with James.

"You know him!" James was outraged, his gaze turning back to her and she knew automatically from the look in his eyes that she was in trouble, "You little _whore_! This is why you were making me wait, isn't it? Because you were skanking around with this jerk off? Because you know that no one else would ever really want you? You little fucking _slut_!"

The words were nothing compared to some of the things he'd said to her, but as soon as Edward heard him saying those terrible things to this girl who was quickly becoming far too important to him something inside of him broke, "That's it!" Before he could think about what he was doing he'd pulled back and punched James in the face with everything he had. James stumbled backwards and he let go of Bella to try and catch the quickly pooling blood coming from his nose.

He made his way around the car quickly, practically ripping the door off as he glared at Bella. His parting words before quickly stumbling into the car and tearing out of the parking lot were, "You little bitch. You're going to regret this!"

Tears that she'd been doing her very best to hold back finally started rolling down Bella's face and Alice suddenly snapped into motion. She ran past Edward, who didn't seem to know exactly what to do, and pulled Bella into a vice like hug and rubbed her back as she tried to soothe the small sobs that escaped her lips, "It's okay Bella sweetie. I promise it's okay. Edward took care of everything and he's gone now. Shh sweetie it's alright shh. It's gonna be okay."

Edward watched as his sister comforted this beautiful girl who he hadn't been able to get off his mind for hours as the thought of someone hurting her had rolled around in his mind, and then she'd walked into his massage room, actually she'd tripped into the room and he'd gotten the chance to catch her and hold her in his arms, her scent surrounding him as things inside of him stirred that he'd sworn to himself were dead. If that wasn't bad enough he'd had to lay there, naked for an hour as she rubbed at his tense muscles, easing away all the stress and anxiety that he hadn't even realized he'd been carrying around with himself. Things that he'd been carrying around for so long that they'd started to feel natural to him and not only that her hands on him felt all too natural to him, more natural than they should. So without thinking he spit out that line about him being luck that she hadn't hurt her arm when her boyfriend pushed her. He knew it was out of line, knew most likely how she'd react, though he tried to tell himself he was trying to help her; get her to admit to her abuse, he was just trying to do something to make things feel a little bit more normal, and for that to happen he needed to push her away, but he knew he'd never be able to so he did the first thing he could think of that would make her push him away.

He thought that things were okay. That he'd walk out of the spa, walk back into his normal life and forgetting that Bella Swan even existed. That was his plan and he had every intention of making sure it worked, even when he could hear her voice playing on a constant loop inside his head, and see her face behind his eyelids every time he blinked. So maybe it would take a little longer than he'd like but he would make sure that this plan worked. At least that's what he thought until he heard a man's voice yelling over to his left and he saw Bella and some guy in an argument, Bella, it seemed, trying to disappear into thin air, fear clearly written on her face. Comprehension dawned on him within seconds. He knew without a doubt that this was the bastard that had sent her into his ER the night before and all the times before. Anger spread quickly through his veins and he rushed forward, protectiveness for the beautiful women guiding him. All his life he'd never been one for confrontations but he hadn't thought twice about throwing that punch, didn't consider a single thing other than the fact that this supposed man had just hit Bella in front of him and now there he was trying to do it again.

His sister was still hushing Bella as she cried onto her shoulder, "Shh, Bella sweetie it's alright, everything's just fine. Edward's going to take care of everything."

Hearing his sister tell this beautiful girl that he could take care of her made something in him snap into action as he moved forward, "She's right Bella. It'll be fine and I'm here for you for anything you need." The one thing he didn't expect was her response.

Bella turned angrily on her heal, and though he was completely shocked he some found himself frozen on the spot as she hissed, "Screw you asshole!"

**A/N- Sorry it's taken so long for this update (Although I supposed it's nothing compared to my "Next Update Christmas" and then you get the update in June or July hiatus is it? Lol) Sorry it's a bit of a short chapter and for leaving this off on a bit of a cliff hanger here but I thought that there was enough drama in this chapter so I'd rather leave you hanging. Bet not a lot of you expected her to react like that, but come on this is Bella we're talking about, nothing's normal with her! : ) Please review and I promise that the more reviews I get the more motivated I'll be to try and get the next chapter out… Okay so go to it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Things I do own… -Too many books to count. –Beads, beads, beads galore. –Plenty of thoughts, dreams and ideas.**

**Things I don't own that I wish I did… -A MacBook. –A new digital camera. –Twilight!**

**Yupp, there it is folks, I don't own Twilight. I wish I did but instead Stephanie Meyer's gets to claim that one. Aw, shucks. :)**

Chapter Four:

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence and physical and verbal abuse which may be considered offensive. I will mark off where the violence begins and ends so that those of you who may be sensitive to this topic can skip it. **

_Bella turned angrily on her heal, and though he was completely shocked he some found himself frozen on the spot as she hissed, "Screw you asshole!"_

---

"What?" The words fell straight out of Edward's mouth without his thinking. Was this woman seriously angry at him? Was she really mad at him for stopping a man from beating her and for getting him to leave?

"You heard me! Screw you!" Yeah…apparently she was, "What the hell gives you the right to stick your nose into something that had absolutely nothing to do with you?"

Edward stood there for a moment, just staring at her with his mouth hanging open slightly in awe of the confidence she suddenly had and it seemed even Alice was, for once, speechless. Where did this fighter come from when just moments before she was pushed up against a car while an asshole smacked her around? And why was she fighting him when all he wanted to do was help her?

"Whoa, whoa Bella calm down. I only want to help you here okay?" He tried to sound soothing as he walked towards her carefully, "Just take a couple deep breaths alright."

Edward heard the resounding smack across his cheek before he felt it, "Don't you dare fucking patronize me you asshole!" And he could only watch as the beautiful girl in front of him struggled to pick up her purse, which she must have dropped at some point during everything that'd happened, "Bella, please."

Edward had to stop her from walking away and going straight back into harm's way and without thinking it through he reached out and grabbed her arm as she was trying to get away from him and Alice quickly, but when she flinched away from him in obvious pain something inside of him that he couldn't put his finger on him ached. He quickly dropped his hand, floundering for the right words; or really any words would be nice. "Oh man Bella, I'm so, so sorry."

His apologies seemed to fall on deaf ears as she just turned around long enough to shoot him the dirtiest look he could manage before turning fully and walking down the street, the sounds of her sniffling fading away.

"Edward!" Alice's loud exclamation broke him out of his thoughts, and also reminded him of her presence standing just feet away, "You can't just let her walk away! You have to try and do something."

"Al where the hell were you the last few minutes?" His voice came out rough as his mind continued to turn and images of what could happen to Bella when she finally got home plagued his mind; his frustration building, "I tried to do everything I could for her. I punched out her boyfriend who was fucking attacking her only to get a slap in the face. Hell I even tried to help her last night at the hospital but _no_ she's just fine!"

It took him a second to realize his mistake, but as Alice's face went from frustrated and pissed to…well _shocked_, frustrated and pissed he quickly realized his slip up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on right there big brother," The look of determination that took over her face worried him. He knew that look; he'd seen it too many times to count, "What's this about trying to help her last night at the hospital?" Her tiny, balled up hands were taking up residence on her hips and her eyes, which were already focused intently on him, seemed to become even fiercer; almost seeming so rough they could shoot lasers if she really wanted them to. Edward felt like cowering in intimidation at the look on his sister's face, and he was sure that the situation looked fairly amusing to a passersby; the six foot three, well built man squirming and practically cowering in front of his sister, who he'd swear only reached five foot because of her spiky black hair.

"Okay well she kinda came into my ER last night with a mild concussion, and after looking at her records and how many ER visits she's had in the past year I tried to question her and offer her help, but it was useless."

"Oh god Edward! How the hell could you just let her walk away like that? Can you imagine what she's going to face when she gets _home_?" Guilt raged through Edward's veins at Alice's words, which she spit out with so much venom that Edward didn't even have it in him to point out that she was standing right next to him when Bella walked away. It was his fault. He should've done something more…although what he wasn't sure. He'd had two chances to help her and he'd failed twice.

Alice saw the pain crossing her brother's face and she realized how her vicious words, which had been uncalled for, had affected him, probably pushing him over the edge of the cliff he'd been standing on since last night. She felt horrible, and she pulled him into a hug which he didn't return for a couple of seconds before he latched onto his little sister.

"Oh Edward, I didn't mean it. It's _not_ your fault, you know that right?" He didn't answer but she felt on single tear fall onto her.

***

Bella saw her house approaching in the distance, the sun long gone from the sky and her phone telling her that it was almost eleven at night and that she had no missed calls or new text messages. Not that she really expected any; James wasn't really the kind of guy who would freak out and get super worried about her not showing up at home. He knew she'd show up eventually, she always did, and she'd pay for it when she got there.

After everything that happened after work Bella walked around the park in the early summer air, avoiding going home and the beating she knew was coming eventually. She certainly couldn't block out thoughts of what she knew would happen when images of what'd happened earlier kept flashing before her eyes.

As she unwillingly thought of the different times things like this happened, and there were far more than she could even remember, she drifted closer to the house, racking her brain for any way she could prolong going in there to meet her fate. She couldn't help but think of Edward, wishing only for a second that she'd stayed with him.

But that would've been stupid. James had warned her on more occasions than she could count on the consequences she would face if she tried to run away or go to the police. He'd warned her that he knew enough people that even if the cops did somehow find him he wouldn't be in jail long and that not only would she pay but so would her family and any friends she used to have before he basically took over her life. She refused to do that to Emmett.

It had practically killed her not being able to see him in the last four years. Even though they spent a large part of their adolescence growing up in different states, they'd always remained fairly close, and then when she moved to Forks, Washington near the end of her sophomore year in high school to live with him and her father they grew even closer. Sure, Emmett was incredibly protective of his baby sister, but he had every right to be and despite her nonchalant attitude the last time she saw him, their separation hurt her every single day and she often found herself wishing she'd stayed with him; where she knew without a doubt that she was safe. If she knew one thing for sure in this world, it's that he big brother would always, without a doubt protect her from anything and everything. And if he didn't, he'd die trying, and that's what scared her.

Finally, after stalling for what felt like seconds, but in reality was a little more than ten minutes, Bella stood in front of her house and she knew that she couldn't stall any longer. If she stood outside in front of the house, or on porch, and James happened look out the window her night would be even worse, so she made her way up the old porch steps and checked the door to see if it was locked. Finding it open she took a deep breath and entered her hell.

"James?" Her voice came out cracked and she wanted so badly to turn and run. She would run anywhere at this point; it didn't matter as long as she wasn't here.

"Oh look who finally decided to come home." James' voice was full of malice and his eyes glittered with something she couldn't quite place. It seemed like a strange mix between hatred, and an incredibly cruel version of excitement. It made her even more scared than she already was. It was obvious to Bella that he'd had a lot to drink since he left her on the street. His nose was red and swollen and looked like it was incredibly painful, but the blood was cleaned up and there was a cut on his cheek.

**If you're sensitive to violent content or verbal and physical abuse and don't want to read the specifics stop here and skip this part!**

Bella didn't say anything, knowing that whatever she might say would only make things worse. Instead she just took an unconscious step back as he approached her, coaching herself not to cry in her mind. Crying only seemed to make things worse for her.

Soon her back was against the front door and he was practically pressed up against her. He ran his hand down her cheek in what to an outsider would seem almost endearing, but she knew better. No, she could see the look in his eyes, and smell the whiskey and beer on his breath, but most of all, she'd gone through this before.

"You're a little whore you know that? Sleeping around with that asshole. I'd have thought you would've known better. I mean I know that you're a fucking idiot, but I _thought_ that even you couldn't be this stupid. Guess I was wrong." His voice was a deadly calm as he spoke, but his hand had moved down to her upper arm and the grip he had there was anything but calm. And Bella knew that this was only the very begging, "But what I really don't understand is how on earth you were able to convince him to sleep with you. I mean look at you!" He laughed a cruel laugh as he started pulling her out of the front hall by the arm with her stumbling behind him the whole way.

"You're an ugly, worthless, disgusting piece of crap that's not worth anything. I mean either this guy was just outta prison and truly desperate, or you paid him." He threw her to the floor in the living room as he grabbed his beer off of the coffee table and practically chugged it. Finishing the bottle he threw it at Bella, who'd stayed on the floor, only bothering to bring her legs to her chest. The bottle hit her on the head, his accuracy surprising for a man who was clearly intoxicated. It broke on contact leaving a large cut over her left eyebrow.

Bella tried her very hardest to stay silent, knowing that like crying, yelling and screaming where not only useless but they also tended to make things worse. She failed. As the bottle made contact with her face she couldn't help but scream and she saw the anger flash even brighter in James' eyes.

"You are such an ungrateful bitch. I mean it's no wonder nobody loves you. There's nothing good about you; no reason for you to be loved. You don't deserve it." A sob escaped her lips at his words. She knew it was true. She was completely unlovable. She'd learned that a long time ago, when she was a teenager. If she wasn't bad enough on top of everything he'd said she was damaged goods. Nobody purposely picked out the bruised bananas in the bunch, sometimes they grabbed it by accident, and then they resent it but no one purposely took them. That's what she was, she was a bruised banana.

He walked over to her, sending sharp kicks to her stomach as he spoke. Bella moaned and bit her lip, praying to any god she could think of that it'd end soon, but knowing deep that it wouldn't.

"You know," He smashed a hard kick to her face, making her scream out in shock and pain, before reaching down and pulling her roughly to her feet, "It's really no wonder at all that your brother doesn't want anything to do with you. I wouldn't either." With that, he smacked her in the face…hard.

He was half right in his statement. Emmett would hate her for how weak she was. He wouldn't want anything to do with her, and he didn't blame him. He didn't deserve to have to deal with her like this. It would kill him to see her so broken again and she couldn't do that to him. He meant the world to her.

Bella couldn't help crying out now. The response was unintentional; the words slipping from her lips without her ever really processing what she was saying, "Ugh…no please. Stop please." Her voice was quiet and she was whimpering with every hit he gave her.

He knew what he was doing and he made sure that no place was safe. He'd kick her legs, or anywhere else he could reach, slap her face, punch her anywhere that was in sight, and when she was on the ground he made a point of kicking her anywhere and everywhere, not leaving one spot untouched.

Bella felt as though her entire body was swelling and she could practically feel her body bruising. Everything was aching. Tears slipped from her eyes and she heard her voice begging for mercy without really realizing she was speaking at all. Blood was coming from the many cuts she'd accumulated, some deeper than others, and she couldn't help but think about when she would faint at scent of blood. She'd quickly grown accustomed to it while with James because she'd gotten cut so many times, sometimes as a result of his hitting her, but other times he did it on purpose, using a knife from the kitchen and leaving large, stinging cuts along her body. She found herself wishing she still fainted at blood, because then she would be in a blissful state of unconscious by now. But instead she was awake as he kicked and punched her, spewing malicious things at her all the while.

**If you decided to skip the details, it's safe to begin reading again.**

**Yay!**

She lost track of how long this went on, but eventually, after a swift kick to her head she found herself falling into the lovely state of comatose she'd been wishing for.

***

Edward sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, his food sitting untouched in front of him. His mind was reeling, and it had been all night. He was completely unfocused since the second her walked in the door, despite every effort he'd made to keep his mind on the job and any relaxation he'd received from Bella's massage was now gone and then some. _Bella._

It didn't matter what he was doing; his thoughts were constantly finding their way back to her. He'd be stitching up a cut on a nine boy whose brother pushed him down the stairs and he found himself wondering if she ever made it home, a part of him wishing she didn't because there was a very good chance that she was safer on the streets than with _him_. He was casting a sixteen year old girl who fell from the top of a pyramid at cheerleading practice and he wanted to know if she was safe.

No where he went and nothing he did could take her off his mind, but it was his last patient that made him snap and decide he had to do something. He'd nearly stopped dead in his tracks when he first walked in the room and saw her. She was four years old and she had chocolate brown eyes that were almost eerily similar to Bella's and her hair was a slightly lighter shade of brown. He felt like he was staring at a younger version of her and his heart ached. She was there because of a broken her arm. Supposedly by tripped over a toy, however the way her arm was broken made him question the story and when he talked to her parents about it again he noted small inconsistencies in their story. But it was her medical record that made him really worry. She'd been here far too many times, and he could see scars and bruises that didn't seem like normal scars a four year old gets playing outside; it didn't matter how clumsy they were.

He'd had to call Child Protective Services and after talking to the sweet little girl they'd determined that she had to be taken from her parents immediately. Chances were she'd be put into foster care and there was a piece of him that wanted to take her in. Without really thinking it through he took her new social worker's card so that he could keep tabs on her.

And now here he was listening to the annoying ringing of his best friend so he could ask for a huge favor, "Hey Ed."

"Hey man I need you to do me a favor. I can't explain right now but I have a feeling that something bad might be going on at," he hesitated slightly before going on, "At a friend's house and I need you to drive by and make sure that everything's okay. Please man it's really important." The tension in his voice was plain for anyone to hear, but he didn't care. He didn't care if he sounded desperate because in reality that's what he was and if that's what it took to make sure Bella was safe than it was more than worth it.

"Um, yeah man if it's really that important to you I can drive by and check things out."

"Thank you so much. I owe you more than you know," A sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Here's her address…"

**A/N: Alright, before we go there I know I know. Bad Em, bad. I had a bit of writer's block when I was trying to write this chapter, and I was in Cleveland for two months in the hospital, and going to doctors appointments. I'm finally home for two weeks and then I have to go back. But that's not important because I was finally hit with MEGA inspiration so here we are. I hope you guys liked this chapter, because A) I always want you guys to love what I'm writing, even if I don't, and B) it's really, really important to this story.**

**I've learned never to **_**promise**_** to have a chapter out by a certain time, so instead I'll promise you this- I'll try my very hardest to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, **_**but**_** you can help get the next chapter out sooner. Here's the deal, for every comment I get from you guys I'll set aside ten extra minutes the day I read it to work on the next chapter. So what're you waiting for? Go down and hit that little button and give me a little nugget of author happiness. You're reviews really do make my day.**

_**Review= Happy Author + TEN Minutes of Extra Writing Time**_

_**+ I'll Throw in A Cookie, Just for the Hell of It!**_

**Thanks guys!**

**Em**


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